Thursday, April 9, 2009

Today was a day like any other. It began as it usually does, a little earlier but pretty much the same ritualistic pattern repeated.

(Kisses and snuggles) "Time to get up. It's going to be a nice day today so you can wear shorts. Remember to dress all the way down to your shoes before breakfast."

"Where is your backpack and lunchbox? You must have your backpack in the car and your lunchbox on the counter before you eat breakfast."

"Yes we're having non-sugared cereal for breakfast. No more sugared cereal in the morning. Or you can have toast or a bagel."

"TURN THE TV OFF! Go brush your teeth. And run a comb through that hair too. A headband or barrette would be nice too."

This is the verbatim monologue I do every morning, with the occasional "Don't forget to study your spelling words during breakfast" thrown in.

How do your mornings usually go?

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On the way to school today, Linus looked through his lunchbox. And he said, "Awesome lunch today mom!" Funny, 10 years ago I never would have imagined how a simple comment like that would give me such a high. Now, THAT is the accomplishment feeling I have been waiting for my whole motherhood. Being a mom is one long string of finishing tasks and never seeing the fruition of our efforts. We comb children's hair, only to have it be smeared with jelly. We scrub stains until our fingers are wrinkled, only to have more stains appear on the same garment. We teach kids to say "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me" but wait for years to have the lessons actually applied to a real conversation. For so long, I have told my husband that being a mom is hard if, for no other reasons, there is no feeling of a job that is finished, where I can stand back and look at my accomplishment and say to myself, "I did that well." Today, I did something well. I made a lunch that my son likes, and he cared enough to tell me so. Why am I tearing up typing that?

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On the way home from school, I passed by a "lingere" shop in a strip mall. (Hee hee - lingere shop in a strip mall... get it???) Anyway, They had written on their window, "Edible lubes and undies". Uh, just my opinion, but is that really something you need to ADVERTISE on your WINDOW? Wouldn't it be enough to just put "Fun Adult Gifts and Toys"? Maybe I'm just a prude. Maybe I just don't want my kids, who can read - very well, I might add - to ask me, "Mom, what are edible lubes and undies?"

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Baby Sally likes to talk on the phone. I like her to not destroy my cell phone. So, when we're in the car, I have given her an old TV remote, which she thinks is a cell phone. She doesn't actually say words, but she puts it up to her cheek and gabbles on and on, just like mama. Aah, the things they pick up without us teaching them!

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I have a long commute to school every day (about 50 minutes there and back, twice a day). I don't like the long drive but I think I'm going to miss it this summer.

Ugh. Mornings. I roll out of bed, usually late, get dressed. Get Baby Girl up and into the living room where she sleeps in front of the disney channel while I nag her to put her clothes and shoes on and get her hair brushed. And then, if the baby has managed to sleep through all of this, I get him up and get him dressed through eye rubs and tears. If he wakes up early then I have to do them both at the same time. All the while fixing something for her to take to daycare for breakfast and trying not to forget anything that must go to school that day like diapers, formula, or filled Easter eggs. It's exhausting.

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Even The Chaos Is Bigger In Texas

If you've ever caught yourself wondering, “How in the hell did *I* get in charge of all this mess? Who was taking a coffee break when they assigned this responsibility to me?” then you might find yourself reading this blog and saying, “ME TOO!”

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I am a wife and mother to 5 children. I like to write about how my world-view has changed by parenting 5 children and being married to a man with a strong personality, much like my own. I write about everything from parenting issues, to the unexpected directions my marriage has taken, to current events(from the perspective of a conservative mom). And sometimes I just post pictures of my very adorable kids.